November 2013 Blog Posts (132)

Last Sunday it was cold with a stiff breeze so I was glad I could introduce Cider to the Rambo Competition Sheet exercise rug. After Shannon groomed her I put it on and off her back and croup a few times and made sure to open and close the Velcro that holds it together at the withers. Long ago Cider had been evented so she probably was familiar with blankets though she had not seen one in years. Shannon saddled…

I am 28 years old and have been working with Thoroughbred race horses since my college years. I have had a hand in nearly every aspect of the Thoroughbred industry, from breaking yearlings at Juddmonte Farms in Lexington, KY to working with mares and foals, to exercising flat horses as well as steeplechase horses, and working with horses in rehab. In 2010, I found After the Races, a 501(c)3 that rehabilitates and rehomes Thoroughbred race horses while promoting the usefulness and…

We all want success and we want it now. We've been taught to "reach for the stars" and set big goals. As a result, sometimes we expect so much of ourselves and our horses that we are rarely happy with our results.

If you've ever said (even to yourself),

"I should be better than this!"

Then you end up feeling like a failure because that "I should be" is really a disguise for that self-defeating old mantra that whispers quietly "I'm not good…

For the past 3-4 years I've been in and out of the saddle, here and there for a trail ride on vacation or helping a friend out.There's been a feeling missing from my life I've finally realized. Training, competing and just being around horses is such an amazing feeling and I miss it, a lot.So on a visit back…

We are on a temperature roller coaster down here in North Carolina. It is around 75° F today, but on Monday morning they are predicting a low of 19° F, if not lower.

Last Monday, when I rode Mia, it was warm, so warm I put on my technical fabric cool riding shirt, and by the end of my ride I was wishing I’d put on my ice-fill sleeves too since I was sweating. Two days later when I got to the stables for my…

Horses are hungry. The only time a horse is not hungry is when he is on his death bed or very stressed (unless he's a stress eater like me...then hide the chocolate! er... grass). Horses will choose to sleep or play at times, but if you walk up and ask (with a big bucket of treats) while they are…

I have a Grandfather Horse. People say he looks good, all things considered. I notice the standard for looking good drops a little more every year, just like his back. The same is probably true for me…

In the last blog post I introduced you to Alex and her lovely three year old filly, Kalipso. Within days of starting Kali under saddle, Alex was out riding safely on the trail. If your baby has a good start they can be safely and successfully introduced to the wonders of the world early on.

Last Sunday I got to ride Cider. When I greeted her she gave me a soft blow. When Shannon groomed her she gave little snorts of approval. While I rode her around the ring (at a walk) she started rewarding me when I used my aids properly with more little snorts of approval. Now don’t get me wrong, Cider still insisted that I get myself perfectly centered in the saddle from the start of my ride. But Cider’s hard work over the past few months is…

It’s been quite a year so far. We had fires the first half of summer and floods the second half. It’s like 2013 was determined to stand out from day one. It’s been year of erratic weather in our lives as well; lots of reluctant change and no shortage of loss. Some of the changes have been nothing but good, and even that doesn’t always mean easy.

On top of that, this year had serious velocity. Such speed that weeks were the length of days, and…

He didn't refuse to go over an obstacle once yesterday. Most significantly, he went over a new jump of his own accord.

They weren't big jumps, about a meter high, no more, but he went right over them with only one slight hesitation.

I suppose most riders might not find this particularly outstanding, but two years ago it was a life-and-death argument to get over a simple trot-pole. He would explode over it and follow it up with a wild-west show. The arena has a couple of…

“Répétez après moi.” It’s what the high school french teacher said and it’s what we did. We repeated words after her, and soon, we repeated canned conversations back and forth. They included lame greetings, followed by asking where the library was. It was the…

- Popular shows like "Dancing with Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" have brought a new life to dance and another way for us to get fit. Choose your style and level of dance and get on with it! Trust me, its actually fun!

Dancing is a great choice of exercise because its fun and you can do it at home. And since you can do it in the privacy of your own home with no one watching, you can go all out and that will deliver the best…

- Most of us sit at our computers all day and as a result our head and neck usually stays in one position for a long period of time resulting in neck tension. Neck tension can be the root cause of a variety of issues including headaches and neck pain.

You may get neck tension or strain if:1. You hold your head and neck in one position for long period of time. There are muscles that hold the neck and if we…

- Meals outside home can be the most harmful to our health especially because it’s easy to make a poor food choice. Making good food choices at work is essential to your health as most of spend at least 8 hours of our day at work. Low energy levels which lead to low productivity levels can be caused by the use of vending machines for snacks, food courts, and street vendors.